Cooperative structures like the Carolina Textile District provide an inspirational example of the type of regional networks that could grow and flourish throughout the country. By Nicholas Wenner and Adrian Rodrigues What does it look like to coordinate a manufacturing vision that will regionalize the production of textiles in the Western US and contribute to […]
Read MoreCategory: Clothing
Weaving Expression with Gather the Universe
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish As Mary Diaz works at her loom, it’s not clear if she’s the one weaving or if it’s the large ornate spider on her arm that is weaving her. “Weaving is a great metaphor for my life, “Mary says. “To me, the spider humbly embodies the beauty in the […]
Read MoreStitching Texture and Connection with Carol Lee Shanks
Written and photographed by Koa Kalish Carol Lee Shanks has been creating unique sculptural clothing and wearable art since 1983. She curates thoughtful and intimate spaces for people to enter her world within her studio and showroom by appointment, or whenever she debuts a new collection. In a two-story building on a quiet road in […]
Read MoreFrom Sheep to Shawl: Family Fun at UC Elkus Ranch
Written by Sasha Wirth and Photographed by Koa Kalish It’s a bright summer day. Children are chasing chickens and sheep are being shorn. Lambs and baby goats wobble and prance about. The sounds of laughter and delighted squeals mix with the throaty crowing of a rooster. Around 300 visitors have come to UC Elkus Ranch […]
Read MoreShearing and Welfare: Why are Sheep Sheared?
Written by Marie Hoff Shearing is that unique seasonal dance between human and fiber animal. It’s the act that offers us wool and fine fibers to wear, knit, and sleep upon. But for people outside the agricultural sphere, shearing can appear as a cause for confusion or even concern. To learn more about this critical […]
Read MoreSoft Steps & Solid Heart at Rhoby’s Ranch
Written by Marie Hoff & Photographed by Paige Green “I keep getting interested. There keeps being more to learn, so I get more interested, and learn more, and the more I learn, the more I keep getting interested,” muses Rhoby Cook of Rhoby’s Ranch. Surrounded by oak and conifer trees, tucked in a valley of […]
Read MoreShifting the Impact of our Clothing: Tips from the Fibershed Community
Written by Jess Daniels with photography by Paige Green and infographics created by Fibershed The latest large-scale assessment of the systems and supply chains that get us dressed reveals that the fashion industry’s sustainability efforts have “slowed by a third in the past year” and overall are “not moving fast enough to counterbalance the harmful […]
Read MoreBringing the Supply Chain to Life with California Cloth Foundry
Written & Photographed by Koa Kalish From the land where the cotton is grown to the spinning mills where it becomes yarn, to the manufacturing facilities that form fabric and fashion; from the hands of the farmers to the mill workers, from dyers to designers, and makers to wearers, Lydia Wendt works from this eagle-eyed […]
Read More4 Simple Guidelines from the Fibershed Clothing Guide
Written by Jess Daniels based on the Fibershed Clothing Guide, available now as a free download Visuals created with Paige Green Photography except for the microplastic image courtesy of the Rozalia Project It’s an everyday act: rise in the morning and slip on something to wear. Regardless of personal style, age, or activities in our […]
Read MoreA Family History in Hats
Written by Koa Kalish and Carol Frechette; Photography by Koa Kalish, Lowell Downey, and Paige Green Photo by Koa Kalish In the early 1980s, just north of the Golden Gate Bridge in the small water-flanked town of Sausalito, lived Carol Frechette. There she lived and worked on boats, working with a sailmaker. Eventually, she started […]
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